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Vulpix Line/RSE
Vulpix can only be found in the external area of Mt. Pyre, with a 20% probability. A Fire Stone can be found in the Fiery Path. Further Fire Stones may be exchanged with the Treasure Hunter near Mossdeep City for Red Shards. Meet the funniest inside joke of all of GameFreak: a Fire-type Pokémon available in Hoenn, and only right before the Too Much Water segment! While a good Pokémon in general, and very reliable in plenty of other games, Ninetales has almost no place in this region. Faced with an evil team that carries either Water- or Ground-types, then a Rock (and Psychic) gym, and then a Water gym, not to mention a Dragon Elite Four member and - in Emerald - a Water specialist as a Champion, Ninetales really is little more than a joke. On top of that, its main trick to handle physical sweepers - that is, Will-O-Wisp - is not even viable against Camerupt, which appear in abundance in Team Magma fights. So why would anyone want to use Ninetales? Even the answer "challenge" is likely a stretch. Personal preference may or may not be the only acceptable, sensible response. That, or within a Fire monolocke context; in which case, godspeed, poor unfortunate soul. Important Matchups - Emerald = * Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): Ninetales 2HKOs Swablu and Tropius and 1-2HKOs Skarmory easily with Flamethrower. It can somehow put up a fight against Pelipper, if it knows Sunny Day: it will downpower its relatively weak Water Gun, and render Flamethrower a 3HKO despite the resistance. It is, however, very dangerous to put up Ninetales against Altaria, as a Will-O-Wisp miss would leave it room to Dragon Dance and become a major threat with Earthquake; even if Will-O-Wisp did not miss, Ninetales' moves are too weak to take down Altaria in a reasonable amount of turns. * Rival (Lilycove City): Flamethrower 2HKOs Tropius and OHKOs Grovyle. Ludicolo is 3HKOed, but can be 2HKOed with Sunny Day up. Ninetales may also attempt Slugma with Return or Dig, both of which net the 2HKO; fighting Combusken is difficult, though, as its Bulk Up can quickly reduce the damage output of Return and boost its Double Kick, which KOs in two turns starting at +2. A Sunny Day Ninetales can 3HKO Pelipper with Flamethrower as well, but should not attempt Marshtomp, due to its Mud Shot being a 2HKO. It may use Will-O-Wisp and Sunny Day in combination to outdamage it, but a miss will expose it to great damage. * Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Numel should be underleveled enough for Ninetales to 1-2HKO with Return; in the mid-30s, Ninetales has nothing to fear even from Numel's Magnitude 10, although a critical hit will still get the fire fox. Mightyena can be 2HKOed with Flamethrower, which also OHKOs Zubat. Camerupt can be potentially 3HKOed with Return, but has a 2HKO chance with Rock Slide and also knows Focus Energy, so Ninetales should preferably avoid fighting it. * Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): Mightyena is 2HKOed by Flamethrower; Ninetales may need healing from confusion once or twice, if it uses Swagger. Crobat can inflict confusion as well, with Confuse Ray, so a Ninetales that has suffered multiple Swaggers from Mightyena should be wary of self-hits in confusion and preferably switch out before the Attack boosts compromise its safety. Crobat is a 3HKO with Flamethrower, and can be 2HKOed with Sunny Day up. Camerupt murders Ninetales with Earthquake. * Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Mightyena is 2HKOed by Flamethrower; mind Swagger if Ninetales must remain on the battlefield to fight Golbat, also averagely 2HKOed by Flamethrower, but only if Ninetales manages to break through confusion. * Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Ninetales is plainly misplaced in this gym. Its Flamethrower struggles to compare with the damage Lunatone's and Solrock's Psychic can deal, let alone the lead Claydol's Earthquake (which 2HKOs Ninetales), and Xatu's and Lunatone's Calm Mind only make it worse; Xatu can only be 3HKOed naturally, and putting up Sunny Day gives it a free turn to use Calm Mind, which brings Psychic close to 2HKO range after a single boost. Relying on Confuse Ray to do magic is a dangerous gamble; Ninetales should not be used in this battle at all. * Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): Ninetales can contribute to this battle until right before Maxie's Camerupt comes out. Tabitha's Camerupt knows Rock Slide, but in double battles, it only 3-4HKOs Ninetales; by contrast, Ninetales can reach 3HKO range with Flamethrower after putting up a Sunny Day. Although Camerupt can still win by spamming Rock Slide every turn, Confuse Ray will help Ninetales prevent just enough damage to beat it, if Ninetales is kept healed throughout. No matter whether the sun is up or not, Flamethrower will only 2HKO both of the Mightyena, though; they also know Swagger, which can become dangerous easily for Ninetales in double battles, as both Pokémon may potentially gang up on it and finish it off after it hits itself in confusion. If Ninetales manages to get past Tabitha's Camerupt and Mightyena, it can also either 2HKO (with Sunny Day) or 3HKO (without) his Golbat with Flamethrower; Sunny Day will give it one less turn of wiggle room to use Confuse Ray against Ninetales, as well. Once Tabitha's side of the battlefield is cleared, Ninetales can proceed to 2HKO Maxie's Mightyena as well. It can also beat his Crobat, a 3HKO normally, upped to 2HKO under the sun; once again, a Ninetales with a boosted Attack from Mightyena's Swaggers needs to be wary of Crobat's Confuse Ray, and preferably switch out before it can use it, to minimise confusion damage. Maxie's Camerupt knows Earthquake; Ninetales should never be left on the battlefield against it. * Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Sharpedo has no Water moves, and can be easily 2HKOed with Return. Mightyena is 2HKOed by Flamethrower. * Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Mightyena is 2HKOed by Flamethrower, though Swagger shenanigans are possible, and Ninetales should be healed or switched out as needed to avoid falling prey of strong confusion recoil. Attack boosts are especially deadly against Crobat, which outspeeds Ninetales and knows Confuse Ray; if Ninetales fights it at neutral or negative modifiers (from Intimidate), however, it should be able to 3HKO it without an issue. Sunny Day will also boost Flamethrower damage to 2HKO range, but it is not advised, due to possible confusion turns lengthening the battle. Ninetales can also stay in against Sharpedo and 3HKO it with Return. * Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Ninetales barely manages to defeat Luvdisc, 3HKOing it with Flamethrower; not even Sunny Day is enough to bring the move to sure 2HKO range. If it puts up Sunny Day, however, Sealeo will also be 3HKOed by the move, and unable to 3HKO back with Water Pulse. Every single other Pokémon on Juan's team except Crawdaunt outdamages it even under the sun, and Crawdaunt's Crabhammer has a higher than normal critical hit rate, which Ninetales will not appreciate; stay away. * Wally (Victory Road): Ninetales should not fight against Altaria, as it would only provide it with a chance to set up Dragon Dances. It can, instead, OHKO Magneton with Flamethrower, which also averagely 1-2HKOs Roselia, and 2HKOs Delcatty; fighting against Gardevoir is poorly advised, as its Calm Mind and Psychic combination reach 2HKO range after a single boost. * Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Flamethrower scores a 2HKO against Mightyena and Absol, and an OHKO against Cacturne and Shiftry. Crawdaunt can 2HKO with Surf, so avoid it unless Ninetales has put up a Sunny Day beforehand. * Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): Ninetales can 2-3HKO the lead Dusclops with Flamethrower, providing its Confuse Ray and Curse do not get in the way. It can also 2HKO both of the Banette with the same move; the OHKO is guaranteed or near-guaranteed with Sunny Day up, depending on Ninetales' Special Attack stat. Their Shadow Ball only 3HKOs, so Ninetales does have time to use Sunny Day. Sableye, like the two Banette, is OHKOed with sunny weather and 2HKOed without. Ninetales should preferably not fight the second Dusclops, but can make do in a pinch with Will-O-Wisp, which nerfs Dusclops' Earthquake just enough for Ninetales to whittle it down with Flamethrower without risk; a Will-O-Wisp miss will not be the end for Ninetales, as Earthquake is a 3HKO close to a 2HKO on average, but two misses in a row are problematic. * Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Ninetales OHKOs both of the Glalie with Flamethrower and the Charcoal attached; the OHKO is possible without the Charcoal, but not very likely, especially against the second Glalie. Sealeo can 2-3HKO with Surf, though Ninetales can outdamage it by putting up Sunny Day and then 3HKOing with Flamethrower. Walrein outpowers Ninetales either way. * Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Ninetales can outdamage and whittle down Shelgon with a combination of Flamethrower and Will-O-Wisp. All of Drake's other Pokémon win easily against Ninetales, so no dice. * Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): Ninetales should not even enter the battlefield here. All of Wallace's Pokémon 2HKO it with Water moves that are dangerously close to an OHKO, and none of Ninetales' assets can help against that. * Post-Game: Rayquaza? What Rayquaza? }} Moves Vulpix starts with Quick Attack, Will-O-Wisp, Confuse Ray and Imprison. Out of its four beginning moves, the two that cause a status condition are the ones that Ninetales should keep for the whole run-through; they may not be amazing, but they work alright put together, and Ninetales' options are so bad that those two slots would see little to no use either way. It learns Flamethrower at level 29, which is the last interesting level-up move; sensible trainers should evolve their Vulpix after Flamethrower is learned. At level 33, Vulpix gets Safeguard, which can be skipped without an issue, and then Grudge at level 37 which is even worse than Selfdestruct. Fire Spin is the last level-up move, coming at 41, and there is no point waiting for this either, as even Ninetales learns it naturally at level 45. For those who want a higher power Fire move, Fire Blast and Overheat are good options. Overheat is unlikely to work, though, purely because on the special side, Ninetales gets Fire coverage and LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE. It learns Return and Dig on the physical side, which is not too bad as its Attack and Special Attack are only five base points away from each other, but saying any of those moves are good would be a stretch. The irony: Ninetales can run Sunny Day, but is incapable of learning SolarBeam, which approximately every single other Fire Pokémon can learn... even more ironic is that Ninetales still does need Sunny Day to function, as it is its main weapon against the water-heavy part of Hoenn. What the hell, GameFreak? In short: Ninetales is the new Flareon, in that it really has no moves. Recommended moveset: Flamethrower, Return, and any two between Confuse Ray / Will-O-Wisp / Sunny Day Recommended Teammates * Grass-types: While other Pokémon have better flexibility with their Rock and Ground coverage, allowing Grass as well as Water for their possible answers, Ninetales is so vulnerable against them that it needs a Grass-type Ground resist to function and switch out to, if Earthquakes come along the way. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Sceptile, Ludicolo, Shiftry, Breloom, Bellossom, Tropius * Water-types: Water-types complete the Grass-Fire-Water triangle, and must be included on a team where Ninetales is present, especially if the resident Grass-type is not great at taking Rock or Ground hits. The chosen Water-type should also not be weak to Rock or Ground, to avoid overlapping weaknesses with Ninetales. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Swampert, Ludicolo, Wailord, Whiscash, Milotic, Starmie, Golduck, Kingdra Other Vulpix's stats Ninetales' stats * What Nature do I want? Something like Modest or Mild would be nice, to maximise STAB damage output. If Ninetales would rather run an annoyer build with Confuse Ray and Will-O-Wisp, Bold and Calm are equally good. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? At level 29, after learning Flamethrower. Or earlier, if Ninetales was taught the move by TM, but there is no need to. * How good is the Vulpix line in a Nuzlocke? For something with that kind of BST, Ninetales is surprisingly bad. It gets the shortest possible end of the stick, being available only in one location and right before the long, draining water segment of Hoenn, on top of having nothing but Fire coverage and some Normal moves. Hoenn is not a good region for Ninetales to be in. * Weaknesses: Ground, Rock, Water * Resistances: Grass, Bug, Steel, Ice * Immunities: Fire (Flash Fire) * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Ghost, Dark, Dragon, Electric, Poison, Psychic, Fighting Category:Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses